Click on the Google Preview image above to read some pages of this book!

Australian literature is one of the richest bodies of work in world literature, dealing not only with "local" Australian issues but also with themes and questions at the forefront of global literary discussion. This comprehensive new Companion takes a fresh look at Australian literature since 1900, taking a broad view of what literature is and viewing it with Australian cultural and societal concerns in mind. Especially relevant here is the heightened role accorded to Australia's indigenous people -- both in literature and in public discourse in the wider sense -- following the landmark 1992 Mabo decision on Aboriginal land rights. Thus two full chapters are devoted to indigenous literature and indigenous issues, which also inform many of the other chapters. Attention to other multicultural connections -- in chapters on Asian-Australian and Jewish-Australian literature and Australian-New Zealand literary relations -- reveal dimensions that few have fully examined. At the same time, the competing pull of Australia's continued connection to Great Britain is given its due.There are chapters on internationally prominent authors such as Patrick White, Peter Carey, David Malouf, and Christina Stead, as well as those of growing reputation such as Gerald Murnane and Tim Winton and less-publicized yet crucially important writers such as Xavier Herbert and Dorothy Hewett.
There are also chapters on prose fiction, poetry, drama, children's literature, science fiction, and regional literature, as well as on women's writing and gay and lesbian writing. Together, the articles demonstrate that Australian literature is part of world literature, going beyond Eurocentric ideas of national literary history to reveal the full, resplendent variety of Australian writing. Nicholas Birns teaches literature at the New School in New York City and is editor of Antipodes: A North American Journal of Australian Literature and author of Understanding Anthony Powell (2004). Rebecca McNeer is Associate Dean at Ohio Southern University and has published on Shakespeare, Virginia Woolf, and Australian literature

Click on the Google Preview image above to read some pages of this book!

Sir Timothy Coghlan (1855-1926) was the statistician for New South Wales from 1886. He produced the world's first example of national financial accounts, and is regarded as Australia's first 'mandarin'. His advice was sought by state and federal governments on matters as diverse as tax, public sanitation and infant mortality. In 1905 he took up an appointment as a New South Wales government agent in London, remaining there for the rest of his life. First published in 1918, this monumental book is Coghlan's very personal history of Australia, embracing materials, population growth, trade and land. It combines his long interest in literature, socio-political issues, statistics and finance with his professional interest in demography and fiscal policy. It offers an authoritative and balanced view of both the specific events and general developments in which he was intimately involved.

Click on the Google Preview image above to read some pages of this book!

A poetic, personal, candid and richly descriptive account of over 40 journeys, on foot, in a kayak and by campervan to different parts of the South Coast of New South Wales over the last twenty years. It includes observations of animals, plants, people, history, ship wrecks, ecology, lakes and islands, and encounters with cuckoos, terns, owls, snakes, sugar gliders, manta rays, dolphins, whales, emus, dingos, cicadas, ant lions, ticks, lace monitors, strangler figs and prickly pear as well as greenies, botanists, bushwalkers, young lovers, locals, park rangers and canoeists.
Anecdotes, poems and photos bring every beach, rock pool, headland, river and lagoon to life.

Click on the Google Preview image above to read some pages of this book!

For many, golf courses are sanctuaries where one can enjoy a few hours of relaxation away from the demands of day-to-day life. Courses along the southeastern coastal plain  from North Carolina to northern Florida  are also sanctuaries for wildlife. This beautifully illustrated guide highlights over 140 familiar and unique species of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians and also features a regional map and information on the unique ecosystems in this area. Laminated for durability, this lightweight, pocket-sized folding guide is an excellent source of portable information and ideal for field use by visitors and residents alike. Made in the USA.

Click on the Google Preview image above to read some pages of this book!

An entertaining look at railway events in Australia in the month of Septemberâ€”from 1848, when a meeting was called to start a railway company in New South Wales, to 2013, when the great Bayer-Garrett AD6029 steam engine was restored to working order.Author David Burke has crafted a â€˜diaryâ€™ which documents, day by day, major happenings to do with railways in Australiaâ€”from the days of steam, to diesel, to diesel-electric and electrification, covering the first trains that ran between New South Wales and Queensland, and to Melbourne.

About the Author

David Burke is a documentary filmmaker and former 60 MINUTES writer/producer who came to Paris in 1986 for what he thought would be a year, but turned into more than twenty. Besides Writers in Paris, he has written two editions of HarperCollinss Access Paris, a travel guide to Mediterranean France, and numerous articles for magazines and web sites.

He and his wife, producer/director Joanne Burke, have also made seven documentaries over these years and are working on a eighth.